Billionaire Warren Buffet is backing a deal under which Burger King would acquire the Canadian company Tim Hortons and move the BK headquarters to Canada, which has a significantly lower corporate tax rate than the United States. (Justin Sullivan, Getty file)

There has been an outcry by liberals and progressives to boycott or picket Burger King for considering moving their headquarters to Canada. I guess to the liberals this is a silly question, but why shouldn’t the corporate tax rate for Canada and USA be the same? Just wondering.

L.W. Hunley, Grand Junction

This letter was published in the Sept. 2 edition.

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While the Denver Post editorial board bemoans a U.S. corporate tax rate “burden” of 35 percent, what it fails to take into consideration is the more illuminating effective tax rate. According to a column by Bruce Bartlett, former policy wonk for both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, published in The New York Times last Nov. 26, a 2013 study by the General Accounting Office determined that, on average, U.S. corporations in 2010 payed an effective tax rate — that is, with deductions — of 13 percent on their worldwide income.

I am reminded of the alimony scofflaw who complains of how his ex-spouse is bleeding him dry while skipping two of every three payments.

Lewis J. Thompson, III, Denver

This letter was published in the July 29 edition.

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Letter-writer Gary Waldman’s response to The Denver Post’s editorial on the corporate tax rate demonstrates his lack of understanding of how business and our economy works. His first error is assuming all companies can take advantage of loopholes. While it is true that some companies are in the position to do so (like GE), most smaller corporations cannot compete globally since our tax rates are among the highest in the world. Reducing the rates while eliminating loopholes puts more companies on equal footing. His second error is assuming corporate profits only benefit the wealthiest Americans. These profits generate capital investment (jobs), growth (jobs), new products (more jobs), etc. Profits also generate stock and dividend growth, which supports virtually every pension fund, IRA and 401(k).

Henry Rissier, Silverthorne

This letter was published in the May 14 edition.

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Denver Post editorial writers seem to think that we need to lower the federal corporate tax rate from the current nominal 35 percent to encourage U.S. corporations to bring profits home from abroad and not move overseas themselves. This despite the fact that corporate after-tax profits are at an all-time high, measured either absolutely or as a fraction of GDP. The Post’s suggestion is a lowering of the nominal rate and elimination of loopholes “so tax reform remains revenue neutral.” In fact, the effective corporate tax rate is about 13 percent (with loopholes). If we lower the nominal rate but close loopholes so that the same amount of before-tax profit brings in the same revenue, then the effective tax rate remains exactly the same, and no incentives for corporations accrue.

Perhaps changing the tax code so that the effective corporate tax rate is lower might lead to so much increased before-tax profit that the lower rate still brings in the same amount of revenue. But that would mean even more after-tax profit, most of which goes to the wealthiest in the nation.

Because the present record profits are not “trickling down” to the middle or lower classes, more corporate after-tax profit is not necessarily “in the long term, the best deal for all of us.”

Gary Waldman, Aurora

This letter was published in the May 10 edition.

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Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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